Ferocious

This little guy would scare away what? A knat maybe?

Isn't he precious? This is a picture of my dog Clyde, enjoying a HOT stroll in Fairhill park on Memorial Day. He was resting in the perfect location - right under that sign!

Cat Tails

Finished this card for one of Vivian's swaps last night. This swap - employ the "Split Negative" technique. The cattail image illustrates the technique.

I liked the way this card turned out. It might actually be useful as a card for a man's birthday or even Father's Day, because it isn't too feminine looking. But..it does have ribbon and purple! So for the very "manly" man (ie. homophobe!)...well...this wouldn't work.

The images are from Unity Stamp Company. The ribbon, card stock and ink are from Stampin Up!, the embossing powder is an old one of mine from Judi-Kins, and the design paper is from DCWV.

This is my very last swap for May...and I think it's my last swap for awhile (besides a couple on-going ones I signed up for). Which is good, because I really needed a break. I was overdoing it. This will give me a chance to focus on techniques, challenges, or organizing and purging my supplies. I can also concentrate on some of my other hobbies - primarily jewelry and photography. And also some sewing. I have a few sewing projects in mind that combine stamping, painting, and sewing...usable mixed media.

And most importantly during the summer, I like being outdoors biking, jogging, camping, rock climbing. So, I will definitely be doing more of that...and taking more photos! AND...HOPEFULLY, taking a few pounds off the derriere (and south).

Ton o Cards

I have accumulated quite the collection of cards over the course of a few months because of all the swaps I've participated in. I really won't use them all. Instead of letting them sit in boxes (unsorted boxes I might add), I decided the best thing to do was send them somewhere they could be put to GOOD use.

My friend, Danielle, is using cards to raise money for autism. She also collects cards so that they can be sent to children WITH autism. It's an ongoing campaign.

Great cause, eh?

So, I sifted through the multitude I've received and packaged them up for her to use.

Anyway, the picture above is the package she'll receive later this week.

Celebrate the Holiday

Memorial Day, that is.

But for me, today, it was like Christmas.

Yes, that's right.

I FINALLY took down the Christmas Tree and put it away!

No, I'm NOT lying.

With Friends

I spent Saturday with my friends Nina and Heather. I hadn't seen them in awhile and it was so much fun spending the day with both of them. I worked with the two of them on my last major project. Both Nina and Heather are partners in a local consulting firm, specializing in business process modeling.

It's so much fun spending time with them because it is always a unique and fun experience coupled with lots of laughter...and...lots of great food.

We met up at Heather's house and from there scooted over with our bikes to St. George's where we set out to bike to Chesapeake City. We ate lunch at Bayard House in Chesapeake City and enjoyed the view.


At one point during lunch, I was venting about my frustrations with trying to find a pair of jeans that fit. I went shopping for a bit on Thursday but couldn't find anything that fit both my waiste AND my legs. Being athletic, I tend to have big legs, but now that I've put on a little more weight (and I carry a bulk of it below the waist in my legs), I really have a rough time finding jeans.

Anyway, Heather suggested I shop at a store in town, because "they tend to carry clothes built to fit the strong and stable German woman" (Quote by Heather, who, by the way, is of Germanic decent).

Okay, so I'm not German...

Her remark to that...."Well, try it there anyway. Maybe your legs have migrated to Germany".

To which we all had a good laugh.

After lunch, we hopped back on our bikes and headed back towards St. George's.






At Heather's house, besides teasing her husband (who is too cool to remove his sunglasses inside), we sewed.

I started the purse below, but didn't finish it until really late on Satursday night.


I might have to make another one of these!

Hip Hop Hanging on a Word

I made this box over the course of the day yesterday. It's a journal/memory box meant for documenting thoughts, dreams, desires, family memories, etc. The actual tabs say:

- hope
- dream
- family
- smile
- vision
- soul

All the stamping is various Unity Stamp Company rubberstamps. The cardstock and most embellishments are Stampin Up!

I got my inspiration from Lauren Meader. You can see her creations and tutorials on her website.

This would probably also be a handy recipe bin. This box and folders are made so that a quarter sheets of paper will fit in the folders!

Marsha's Doll

Marsha completed her painting on Wednesday night in the studio. Isn't it wonderful? This clown was her father's toy when he was a young boy.

Painting in the studio with this group of friends has been so much fun. I always look forward to Wednesday nights. We all are very different, but appreciate each other's sense of humor, knowledge, point of view, and...especially...talent. Al, Marsha, Bonnie, Jim, and I are the foundation of the gruop. Bonnie and Jim are married - so it's alot of fun having them in class as a couple...for many reasons, but primarily so that we can poke fun at marriage.

I've been painting with Marsha the longest. Probably 3-4 years now. Her paintings get so much more amazing with each one she does.

Marsha....Bravo!

Jim

My painting friend Jim is having surgery to remove a portion of his kidney because of cancer.

A few years ago, he had one kidney completely removed due to cancer. Now it's back - in the only kidney remaining.

He remains positive, because the doctors said they felt sure it was contained to a small area.

All the same, this isn't a fun surgery. It's quite invasive, because they must cut through the abdominal muscles. The cut is pretty big. I saw his other scar. They have to do something similar to him.

Yuk.

I've been thinking about him, because I want to call and find out how things went, but I also don't want to bother them....he might not be "up" to talking. And Bonnie, his wife, might be tired and stressed from worry and tending to him.

Get the Party Started

An entire week early!

In festive colors, I'm not sure I would ever want to open this. How about you?

What is it, you ask?

It's microwave popcorn.

Something like this would be great for a 'lil get together with friends, or better yet...for Dad!

His day is coming up in a few weeks, so I'm starting to TRY to think "Manly". Tough for me, since most men I know shy away from pink. And I have a hard time creating anything without pink, flowers, or fancy ribbons.

If I don't come up with something dripping of testosterone, I will hear my husband saying (with a jovial lisp): THUPER!

Daily Dose of Joy

So, if you are visiting for the Unity KOM Blog hop, this card IS NOT it - LOL. Scroll down to Friday's post.

However, the card I did today does use all stamps from Unity Stamp Company. And, it actually DOES include a stamp from the May KOM that I received yesterday.

I'm doing this card for the May flood.

Why Joy? Because:

- John finishes High School this next week - his last final is on Tuesday. I will have to post his graduation card (after I figure out what to do..LOL). He's one happy guy.

- I'm off work later in the week! This week should be a short and sweet week for me. And with Monday being a holiday, I'm going to have a SUPER long weekend.

- Dave just fixed one of our cars, which hasn't been running for a very long time. He literally had to take the entire engine apart to fix it! (Head Gasket problem). So he's pretty happy.

See, so what's not to enjoy?

Now, I'm off to create some party favors for KJ's Happy Hour swap...

And a message for all you too - Remember to Enjoy Your Day!

Better yet

Enjoy your week!

Friendship ... Aged to Perfection

If you are visiting for the Unity KOM Blog Hop, please scroll down!

I created this card for Vivian's "It's Cocktail Hour Somewhere" swap. I just can't seem to get away from pink inspired cards!

Looking closely, you can see that I paper pieced almost the entire image. I thought it would be faster than coloring...HA! But hey, I had fun and LOVE paper piecing, so it was time well spent. There is something almost hypnotic about focusing on the details.

I must mention that with this card, I now realize that bifocals are now required 100% of the time.

I have now entered the geezer era of my life! Totally sad, considering my heart and spirit feel relatively young.

Unity Blog Hop

My project today is a little mini album I put together to give to my daughter, who is exploring the possibility of traveling across America from Washington State to Delaware in July. I wanted to give her something to log and journal her adventures!

I used stamps from Unity Stamp Company's June and November Kits of the Month for the cover.

Inside the cover, I put a little note. She plans to hitch hike which is extremely bothersome to me. I want her to be safe! Maybe I'll suggest flying out and renting a car and doing a rode trip with her! That would curb my fears and will also be fun!


The journal block comes from their September Kit.

Unity Stamp Company is featuring a sale on their previous Kits! This is the time to get them if you don't have ENOUGH! See their sales here: Sales at Unity



The inside pages were not made with a KOM stamp, but this stamp is cool all the same. I love this flower. It's big and has many uses!

To start at the beginning of the blog hop, visit Angela's blog here: Unity Blog

Next Up: Tammy

All Pink All Fun All Girl

This picture is of the daughters of two of my friends. Look at their eyes. All smile.

They "walked" with my very easy going dog, Clyde, on the walk we did on Jami's team.

Clyde enjoyed the ride! (And the bits of pizza after the walk when we were replenishing our strength!)

Seulement Pour Vous, Mon Ami

Oui Oui!

Miracles of miracles, my husband did not wake me for our shower until almost 7 AM, so my late night art explosion did not result in the exhaustion I was predicting.

The above I finished at lunch today. I got almost everything ready (except the punching for the lacy border) and threw everything in my art travel kit before rushing out the door for work. It was such a nice day outside - I sat at a picnic table in a shady area outside our building and enjoyed the antics of the birds while I put all the cards together to complete my responsibilities for Jessica's swap.

And, this card uses a layout I did last week HERE. So, that means I'm making progress on the gazillion!

Anyway, enough about that. Did you catch the title "Seulement"...isn't that an exquisite word? It means Only , Just, Merely...and my favoriate...Solely

Doesn't that make it sound private, isolated, and focused? Can you imagine someone whispering that word to you!

Bepto Pismol Anyone?

Más Flores. Pink Galore, eh?

It looks like someone spilled a bottle of Pepto all over the kitchen. But...I finished these just a few minutes ago for Jessica's 3 x 3 box and card swap.

Now, off to bed. It's almost Tuesday already.

Tis going to be a long Tuesday!

Flores Para la Madre

So, FINALLY, I finished my swap for Vivian. This particular flower post design is floating all over the web right now. Isn't it just wonderful? I couldn't help CASing it. And I've had a bit of trouble with my Muse lately.

I think she's gone shopping.

Whatcha Think? Perfect for Mother's Day?

I added a sentiment in Spanish for "Thank You", because:

- Mothers - well, you need to thank them more often than you think
- Spanish because THANK YOU seems to be a foreign concept for some children
- I just like the sound of Much Thanks in Spanish.



The flowers are attached to a tag and when pulled you see the above!

Spring Flowers! What more could you ask for?

Scrappy Clipboard

I created this clipboard for Unity Stamp Company's Hip Hop Scrappy Challenge, but didn't finish it until way passed the closing time. I still wanted to do it, because challenges help me think out of the box.

I had originally intended to use Unity's Polka Dot Left frame for another project, but instead went with something else, but I always keep elements on hand (especially if I have taken the time to cut them out!).

The background of the clipboard is covered with blue cardstock and stamped first with Staz-On White, then overstamped with Stampin Up! Chocolate Chip using Unity's Floral Swoop stamp and their Swirl Element stamp.

The flowers were leftover from my Butterfly Book project and the little piece of Stampin Up! ribbon came out of my leftover ribbon jar.

The chipboard measures 4 x 4.75. So, you might be wondering the same thing I was after I made it. What's it good for? So, squeezing the juices of my brain, and thinking..."It's a decorative object" over and over again....I thought...

Yeah, I could use it in a gift basket, hold little notes for myself at work (and it'd help me find it, because it would stand out against cubicle ivory!), or even throw it in a clear envelope with a letter as Naked Mail.

I like the Naked Idea! Okay, you all know I like the Naked part the best, but letters are fun too, right?

I have a dear friend that I'm sure it will cheer up! So, here it comes, you don't know who!

Creamy Olive Bauble

Another week. Where'd it go?

While I should have been finishing a couple other swaps for some of my friends, I instead found myself doing the above necklace.

I made the lampwork bead over a year ago. And if you're a lampwork bead artist, you KNOW that this bead is quite imperfect and not at all the level of quality of good beads. But I like its imperfections, which make it somewhat unique. I certainly don't think I could reproduce it!

It is made with soft glass and sterling silver. While forming, I decided to play around (I was having a time of it trying to make a round bead!). Why not add some sterling silver wire around it - it couldn't get much worse! I didn't have any fine silver wire on hand - which is preferred with lampwork since with fine silver, you don't have to worry about black firescale. I thought to myself. I said, "Self. This is a practice bead."

I wrapped the wire (too tight, I should add), and it immediately beaded up and tarnished. I thought...Yikes. Practice, NO!...Disaster, YES.

Oh, dear. How can I fix this?...I know...Let's flatten it!

So...off I go to get the lentil shaped mold, which, by the way, is tricky considering that you are dealing with molten, moving glass at over 1500 Degrees F!

In my scurry (soft glass can crack and sputter all over the place if it cools too quickly), I pounced it in the mold and SQUEEZED

Too hard I should add

And it spilled out the sides of the mold, forming the line around the edges (that you can see)!

Do you ever have art days like that?

So, after it cured..The perfectionist that I am, stuck it in a bag with other bead remnants...and one year (or more?!) later I found it!

As an artist, I have learned that if you revisit something you have done maybe a little later (one year...a bit extreme, but I've been BUSY), you may see something with a different set of eyes, and with those eyes, you might not see that wart.

Last night, new eyes.

So, I cleaned what firescale I could off the surface...And, huh, wouldn't you know...

I actually liked the oxidized pebbles that were left.

So,I braided verigraded ribbon to make the necklace chain to give more "weight" than leather cord and more color/less shine than a silver chain.

And threw it together using some leftover extra twisted jump rings I had made from an another necklace, extra daisy separator beads (I always have those on hand), and an olive colored Swarovski crystal.

So, there you have it.

However...tomorrow...if I don't finish my swap for Vivian, she's gonna rip me a new one!

No playing around.

In the meantime, I shall walk in Diva fashion donning this bauble whilst pretending to not feel overwhelmed.

Cheers!

Spa Day

This is a Spa Day Gift set that is headed it's way to Canada! It includes Soap, Salts, Essential Oils, Candles, and a Washing Mitt (not pictured).

I have one additional item to add to the package, but I'll give you more information on that tomorrow (because it's just not finished).

This was a busy weekend. Yesterday, I caught up with my dear friend, Ann, and her family. I just love spending time with her. I don't know how to describe her, except to say that she makes me smile and laugh at so many struggles that we, as mothers and women, struggle with. My kids are all adults, but her kids are still quite young. To spend time with her, her husband (what a great guy!), and her children (her daughter, Eva, is just simply delightful, and her son, Drew, such a little prince) is like taking my life and putting it in rewind, but adding in bright sunshine and posies.

Ann and I participated in an awareness, fund raising walk for brain cancer awareness, because of our friend, Jami, who unfortunately succumbed on Friday. After the walk, I went back to their house and was introduced to Wii Fit by Eva, who beat me running around the island and demonstrated several yoga poses to me.

Then Ann showed me some of Drew's and Eva's artwork that she framed. It is so amazing to look at art created by children and see their uninhibited, raw creativity!


Today was my husband's 50th birthday. His parents came over and we had rib-eye steak, rosemary and garlic potatoes, and salad. And since my old man is watching his weight (like he needs to!), we had Jack's special low fat, high fiber, muffins topped with cream cheese frosting for his birthday cake!

Now at Peace

My heart fills very heavy and sad this morning.

My friend, Jami, passed away at home with her family last night at around 8:30 pm.

Hi...Hello....Hiya...Hola

This is probably one of the simplest designs I've ever put together, but in creating it, I have to admit that it probably took several hours of mulling over exactly where to put the ribbon, what color ribbon to use, where to put the design background, and the placement of the "Hi" stamp. But when all is said and done, think of the possibilities you can do with this clean and simple layout!

I really need to use and take advantage of all the layout designs other artist do, because coming up with my own is extremely time intensive. I'm sure this is simple enough that it isn't new - just new to me. But as picky as I am about the way a finished piece looks, I wonder, tho, because I'd still fret over the colors and details!

Anyway, I'm putting it here to remind me to use this again in the future. It doesn't look like it, but that one card was a real 4 hours of work!

I should make about a-gazillion more to use just so it can pay for itself when I go to send a card to someone, eh?